Before getting into this blog make sure to read my previous blog<\/a> for better understanding\u00a0, This is the Part II of previous\u00a0blog.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve built a great understanding so far. We started with the big picture\u00a0, learning that Solana is an Integrated<\/strong> blockchain built for speed and seamlessness. Then, we looked at the simple story of a transaction\u00a0, introducing the key role of the rotating Leader<\/strong>. After that, we zoomed in on the detailed technical engine, revealing the Six Stages<\/strong> (like Gulf Stream and Turbine) that make this speed possible\u00a0.<\/p>\n Now\u00a0, we are going to zoom in on the very first of those six stages: the User<\/strong>. This blog explains what a \u201cuser\u201d and an \u201caccount\u201d truly are in the Solana\u00a0world.<\/p>\n Before any transaction can happen, a user needs an identity and a way to interact with the network. This is where wallets and keys come\u00a0in.<\/p>\n 1. Getting Started: The Wallet<\/strong>\u00a0: The journey begins when you download a Solana wallet application (like Phantom, Solflare, etc.). Think of the wallet as your personal interface to the Solana universe\u200a\u2014\u200ait\u2019s like your web browser for the blockchain. Its most important job is to create and manage your \u201ckeypair.\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Your Account: Public Key vs. Private Key<\/strong> Your entire presence on Solana is defined by a keypair<\/strong>, which consists of two parts that are mathematically linked. The slide gives a perfect analogy: think of your Solana account as a file on a computer.<\/p>\n Public Key (Your Address):<\/strong><\/p>\n Analogy:<\/strong> This is the filename<\/strong>. It\u2019s the unique identifier for your\u00a0account.What it\u2019s for:<\/strong> This is your public address. It\u2019s like your email address or your bank account number. You can share it freely with anyone. If someone wants to send you cryptocurrency or an NFT, they send it to your public key\u00a0address.Example\u00a0:<\/strong> FDK…Lw4Tn. This long, alphanumeric string is a user-friendly representation (called Base58) of your public\u00a0key.<\/p>\n Private Key (Your Password):<\/strong><\/p>\n Analogy:<\/strong> This is the password<\/strong> to the file. It is also called a \u201csecret key\u201d or, more commonly, your \u201cseed phrase\u201d (a 12 or 24-word version of the\u00a0key).What it\u2019s for:<\/strong> This key proves you are the owner of the account. You use it to \u201csign\u201d or approve every transaction.THE GOLDEN RULE:<\/strong> You must NEVER, EVER share your private key<\/strong> with anyone. Always remember that \u201cKnowledge of the private key gives absolute authority<\/strong> over the account.\u201d If someone gets your private key, they can steal everything you own. Your wallet keeps this key safe and uses it on your behalf when you approve a transaction.<\/p>\n 3. What the Computer Sees<\/strong>\u00a0: Now we will see what these keys look like under the\u00a0hood:<\/p>\n Keypair (Base58 string):<\/strong> This represents your private key (and by extension, its linked public key). It\u2019s a long string that you must keep completely secret.Keypair (integer array):<\/strong> At its most basic level, a key is just a string of numbers (bytes). The [63,107,47,…] is the raw data that the Base58 string represents. The slide notes that a full keypair is 64 bytes long\u201432 bytes for the private part and 32 for the public\u00a0part.<\/p>\n So, when we say \u201cUser\u201d in the Solana process, we mean an account controlled by a private key<\/strong> and identified by a public\u00a0key<\/strong>.<\/p>\n From the previous\u00a0, we know your identity on Solana is a keypair<\/strong> (a public address and a private password). But how<\/em> are these keys created? And what<\/em> makes them so secure? Now we will see that\u00a0.<\/p>\n The Mathematical Foundation: The Ed25519\u00a0Curve<\/strong><\/p>\n Look at the graph. This strange, curved line is the heart of Solana\u2019s security.<\/p>\n What it is:<\/strong> It\u2019s a visual representation of a specific type of advanced mathematics called an elliptic curve<\/strong>. Solana uses a version named Ed25519<\/strong>, which is famous for being extremely secure and efficient.The Big Idea:<\/strong> Every single Solana wallet address in existence is simply one unique point on this curve<\/strong>. The diagram shows \u201cBob\u2019s wallet\u201d as one such point. Your wallet is another unique point. Your friend\u2019s wallet is a third point. The math of the curve ensures that these points (your public keys) can be generated from a secret number (your private key), but it\u2019s practically impossible to go the other way and figure out the secret number just by looking at the point on the\u00a0curve.Why Ed25519?<\/strong> It was chosen because it\u2019s fast, requires small key and signature sizes (which saves space and cost on the blockchain), and is very resilient to known methods of\u00a0attack.<\/p>\n Your Master Key: The Mnemonic Seed\u00a0Phrase<\/strong><\/p>\n Previously we called the private key a \u201cpassword.\u201d Now I will tell you what that \u201cpassword\u201d looks like in the real world. It\u2019s not something you type every day; it\u2019s something you write down once and protect with your\u00a0life.<\/p>\n What it is:<\/strong> It\u2019s a mnemonic seed phrase<\/strong>\u200a\u2014\u200aa list of 12 or 24 simple English words (e.g., witch basket pioneer razor…).How it works:<\/strong> When you create a new wallet, it generates a master secret key for you and presents it as this list of words. This phrase is the ultimate backup for all your funds. From this single seed phrase, your wallet can \u201cdeterministically\u201d derive a virtually infinite number of individual Solana accounts. \u201cDeterministically\u201d just means it will always derive the same keys in the same order every\u00a0time.This is your real private key.<\/strong> If you lose your phone or your computer crashes, you can reinstall a Solana wallet on a new device, enter your 12 or 24-word phrase, and you will instantly regain full access to all your funds. It is the most critical piece of information you\u00a0own.<\/p>\n The Power of Your Signature: The Atomic Transaction<\/strong><\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s connect this cryptography to the action of making a transaction.<\/p>\n Signing:<\/strong> When you approve a transaction, your wallet uses your private key (derived from your seed phrase) to create a unique digital signature. This signature is mathematical proof that the owner of the account authorized the transaction.Atomicity:<\/strong> Transactions are atomic<\/strong>. This is a powerful guarantee. \u201cAtomic\u201d means the transaction is an \u201call-or-nothing\u201d operation.Analogy:<\/strong> Imagine you\u2019re swapping your collectible NFT for 5 SOL from Bob. An atomic transaction ensures that one of two things happens: (1)<\/strong> you get the 5 SOL AND Bob gets the NFT, or (2)<\/strong> the entire transaction fails and you both get your original items back. There is no in-between state where you send your NFT and get nothing in return. This all-or-nothing principle is what makes complex operations like trading on decentralized exchanges safe.<\/p>\n Now we will see that a Solana transaction is a very precise and well-structured piece of data. Think of it as a formal request sent to the Solana\u00a0network.<\/p>\n At the highest level, it has two\u00a0parts:<\/p>\n The Transaction Message:<\/strong> This is the core of the request. It\u2019s the \u201cletter\u201d itself, containing all the details about what you want to\u00a0do.The Signature(s):<\/strong> This is the proof of authorization. It\u2019s the cryptographic signature, created with your private key, that gets attached to the message. It proves you wrote the letter and that it hasn\u2019t been tampered with. Each signature is 64 bytes of\u00a0data.<\/p>\n The true complexity lies within the Transaction Message<\/strong>, which is composed of four specific sections:<\/p>\n This is the most important part\u200a\u2014\u200athe actual commands you want the network to execute. A single transaction can contain multiple instructions that run in order. This is the \u201ccore\u201d of the transaction. This page gives us concrete examples of what an instruction can be: transfer (send tokens), mint (create new tokens\/NFTs), burn (destroy tokens\/NFTs), or create\u00a0account<\/p>\n Analogy:<\/strong> Think of a transaction as a recipe. The \u201cInstructions\u201d are the individual steps: \u201c1. Mix flour and sugar,\u201d \u201c2. Add eggs,\u201d \u201c3. Beat until\u00a0smooth.\u201d<\/p>\n Each instruction has three\u00a0parts:<\/p>\n Program ID:<\/strong> The address of the smart contract you want to use (e.g., the address for the Jupiter exchange program or the Tensor NFT marketplace program). This is the specific \u201ckitchen appliance\u201d you need for this\u00a0step.Accounts:<\/strong> The specific accounts this one instruction needs to read from or write to. These are the \u201cingredients\u201d for this step (e.g., your SOL account, your USDC account).Data for the program:<\/strong> The specific details for the command (e.g., \u201cswap 1 SOL\u201d or \u201clist NFT for 5\u00a0SOL\u201d).<\/p>\n This is a complete, ordered list of every single account that will be touched by any<\/em> of the instructions in the transaction.<\/p>\n Why is this important?<\/strong> This is a key reason for Solana\u2019s speed. By forcing the transaction to declare all involved accounts upfront, the network can figure out which transactions are unrelated and can be processed simultaneously (in parallel) without waiting for each other. If your transaction only involves your accounts, and my transaction only involves my accounts, the network knows it can run both at the same time without conflict.<\/p>\n This is a critical security\u00a0feature.<\/p>\n What it is:<\/strong> A \u201cblockhash\u201d is the unique ID of a very recent block on the Solana blockchain.Analogy:<\/strong> It acts like putting the headline of today\u2019s newspaper in a video. It proves the video was filmed today, not five years\u00a0ago.Why it\u2019s used:<\/strong> By including a recent blockhash, you are \u201ctimestamping\u201d your transaction. The network will reject the transaction if the blockhash is too old (usually older than about 2 minutes). This prevents a \u201creplay attack,\u201d where a malicious person could try to copy your signed transaction and submit it again later to make you perform the same action\u00a0twice.<\/p>\n This is a tiny piece of information at the very beginning of the message. As the legend at the bottom explains (u1, u2, u3), it simply tells the network three numbers: how many signatures are required, how many of the involved accounts are read-only signers, and how many are read-only non-signers. This is more metadata that helps the network process the transaction efficiently.<\/p>\n Finally, the strict rules that this entire package must\u00a0follow:<\/p>\n Size Limit:<\/strong> A Solana transaction cannot be larger than 1,232 bytes<\/strong>. This is a very small size, which forces transactions to be efficient and lightweight, allowing them to travel through the network very\u00a0quickly.Compute Units (CUs):<\/strong> This is how Solana measures the cost of a transaction\u2019s complexity.Analogy:<\/strong> Think of CUs as Solana\u2019s version of \u201cgas.\u201d A simple token transfer is an easy task that uses very few CUs. A complex trade on a decentralized exchange is a more intensive task that uses many more\u00a0CUs.Purpose:<\/strong> This system measures the amount of computational work a validator must do to process your transaction. It\u2019s used to prevent network spam and is a key factor in calculating the transaction\u2019s fee, ensuring you pay for the resources you\u00a0use.<\/p>\n In summary, a Solana transaction is a small, highly efficient, and precisely structured data package. It declares all its resource needs upfront (the accounts list) to enable parallel processing, is protected by a 1-minute expiry date (the blockhash), and its computational cost is measured in Compute Units. This entire signed package is what gets sent to the network for execution.<\/p>\n We now have a complete picture of a Solana transaction. It\u2019s a secure, atomic request, authorized by a User\u2019s private key<\/strong>. This request is a tiny data package (under 1,232 bytes) with a precise structure: Instructions<\/strong>, Account Addresses<\/strong>, a Recent Blockhash<\/strong>, and a Header<\/strong>. We also know its complexity is measured in Compute Units\u00a0(CUs)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s understand the fee you pay to get this package processed.<\/p>\n To understand fees, we first need to know the currency.<\/p>\n The Lamport: The Smallest Unit of SOL<\/strong> As the box at the bottom explains, the smallest unit of a SOL token is called a\u00a0lamport<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 1 SOL = 1,000,000,000 lamports (one\u00a0billion)Analogy:<\/strong> This is like the relationship between a Rupee and a paisa, or a Dollar and a cent, but on a much smaller scale. This allows transaction fees to be incredibly tiny. The unit is named in honor of Leslie Lamport, a pioneering computer scientist whose work is fundamental to the systems Solana is built\u00a0on.<\/p>\n A transaction fee on Solana is made up of two parts, as shown in the formula at the top of the page: Total Fee = Base Fee + Prioritization Fee<\/p>\n 1. The Base Fee (The Cost of\u00a0Entry)<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a small, fixed fee required for every transaction.Cost:<\/strong> It is 5,000 lamports per signature<\/strong>. A simple transfer with one signature costs 5,000 lamports. A more complex transaction needing two signatures would have a base fee of 10,000 lamports.This fee covers the basic cost of getting your transaction validated and included in a block, regardless of how complex its instructions are.<\/p>\n 2. The Prioritization Fee (The \u201cTip\u201d for\u00a0Speed)<\/strong><\/p>\n This part is technically optional, but becomes very important when the network is\u00a0busy.Analogy:<\/strong> Think of it as leaving a tip for a waiter at a very crowded restaurant. A bigger tip makes your order more attractive to handle\u00a0next.How it works:<\/strong> You specify a \u201cprice\u201d you are willing to pay for each Compute Unit your transaction uses. This price is set in micro-lamports (millionths of a lamport). When the network is congested, validators (Leaders) are more likely to pick transactions with a higher prioritization fee because it earns them more money. This creates a dynamic marketplace for blockspace.<\/p>\n The fee you pay doesn\u2019t just vanish. It powers the network\u2019s economic\u00a0engine.<\/p>\n The Current\u00a0System:<\/strong><\/p>\n 50% is Burnt:<\/strong> Half of all transaction fees are permanently destroyed or \u201cburnt.\u201d This removes SOL from the total supply, creating a deflationary pressure that can make the remaining SOL more valuable over\u00a0time.50% Goes to the Leader:<\/strong> The other half is paid to the validator who buil the block as their reward for doing the\u00a0work.<\/p>\n An Upcoming Change (SIMD\u00a096):<\/strong><\/p>\n The page notes a future update will change this model slightly to improve incentives.100% of the Prioritization Fee<\/strong> (the \u201ctip\u201d) will go to the Leader. This makes tipping even more effective at getting your transaction processed quickly.The Base Fee<\/strong> will remain unchanged (50% burnt, 50% to the\u00a0Leader).<\/p>\n The diagram shows the step-by-step interaction that happens every time you use a decentralized application (dApp) on Solana, like an NFT marketplace or a trading platform.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s follow the numbered steps in the\u00a0diagram:<\/p>\n Step 1: Connect<\/strong> You visit a dApp and click the \u201cConnect Wallet\u201d button. The dApp asks your wallet for permission to view your public key<\/strong> (your address). Your wallet keeps your private key<\/strong> safely sandboxed and secret; the app never sees\u00a0it.Step 2: Build Transaction<\/strong> You decide what you want to do on the app\u200a\u2014\u200afor example, you input that you want to swap 1 SOL for some USDC. The dApp takes your intent and builds the <\/strong>Transaction Message<\/strong> that we learned about on the previous pages. It assembles the correct Instructions, Account Addresses, and gets a Recent Blockhash.Step 3 & 4: Sign and Return<\/strong> The dApp sends this unsigned<\/em> transaction message to your wallet for approval. Your wallet (e.g., Phantom, Solflare) will show a\u00a0popup.<\/p>\n This popup does two\u00a0things:<\/p>\n It often simulates the transaction<\/strong> to show you the likely outcome (e.g., \u201cYou will receive ~150\u00a0USDC\u201d).It asks you to approve or reject the transaction. When you click \u201cApprove,\u201d your wallet uses your secret private key to cryptographically sign<\/strong> the transaction. It then returns this signed package to the\u00a0dApp.Step 5: Send to RPC<\/strong> The dApp now has the complete, user-authorized package. It sends this transaction to an RPC (Remote Procedure Call) provider<\/strong>. The RPC node is the essential on-ramp to the Solana network\u200a\u2014\u200ait\u2019s an intermediary service that takes the transaction from the application and broadcasts it to the validators to be processed.<\/p>\n Now we will clarifies one of the most misunderstood concepts on Solana. What does it mean when your transaction \u201cfails\u201d?<\/p>\n It Does NOT Mean the Network Broke:<\/strong> A \u201cfailed transaction\u201d on Solana is misleading. It does not mean your transaction was lost or that the network didn\u2019t process\u00a0it.It Means the Program Returned an Error:<\/strong> It means your transaction was successfully included in a block and executed<\/strong>, but the outcome<\/em> of the execution was an error. You still pay the small base fee for the processing attempt.Analogy:<\/strong> Imagine submitting an application form to an office. You pay the processing fee, and the clerk successfully processes your form. However, they discover the item you applied for is out of stock, so they stamp \u201cREJECTED\u201d on it. The process<\/em> worked perfectly, but the result<\/em> was an\u00a0error.The slide notes that over 80% of these \u201cfailures\u201d are due to normal program logic (like trying to mint an NFT that has already sold out) and are often caused by trading bots trying to seize fleeting opportunities.<\/p>\n We have now seen the full picture from every\u00a0angle.<\/p>\n The journey begins with you, the User<\/strong>, interacting with a dApp<\/strong>. The dApp builds<\/strong> a transaction, and your Wallet<\/strong> provides the secure Signature<\/strong>. The dApp then sends this package to an RPC node<\/strong>, which is the gateway to Solana\u2019s high-speed network.<\/p>\n From there, your transaction is sorted by Gulf Stream<\/strong>, processed by the Leader<\/strong>, broadcast by Turbine<\/strong>, and finalized by network Consensus<\/strong>. You pay a tiny fee in lamports<\/strong>, part of which is burnt<\/strong> forever. Even if your transaction \u201cfails,\u201d it simply means the program you interacted with returned a logical error after being successfully executed.<\/p>\n From the core philosophy down to the final click in your wallet, this entire, deeply-integrated system is designed to provide a secure, low-cost, and exceptionally fast experience on a truly global\u00a0scale.<\/p>\n \u2705 <\/em>Disclaimer:<\/em><\/strong> Solana\u2019s First Layer Explained: Users, Wallets, and Accounts<\/a> was originally published in Coinmonks<\/a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Solana\u2019s First Layer Explained\u00a0: Users\u00a0, Wallets and\u00a0Accounts Before getting into this blog make sure to read my previous blog for better understanding\u00a0, This is the Part II of previous\u00a0blog. We\u2019ve built a great understanding so far. We started with the big picture\u00a0, learning that Solana is an Integrated blockchain built for speed and seamlessness. Then, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85523"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85523\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Your Secure Identity on Solana (Deep\u00a0Dive)<\/h3>\n
The Anatomy of a Solana Transaction\u00a0::<\/h3>\n
A. Instructions (The \u201cWhat to\u00a0Do\u201d)<\/h4>\n
B. Account Addresses (The Full \u201cShopping List\u201d)<\/h4>\n
C. Recent Blockhash (The \u201cProof of Liveness\u201d)<\/h4>\n
D. Header (The \u201cMetadata\u201d)<\/h4>\n
The Rules and Limits of a Transaction:<\/h3>\n
The Anatomy of a Fee\u00a0:<\/h3>\n
Where Does the Money Go? (The Economics)<\/h3>\n
The Dance Between Your Wallet and an\u00a0App<\/h3>\n
Understanding \u201cFailed\u201d Transactions (A Common Misconception)<\/h3>\n
Our Story\u2019s Conclusion<\/h3>\n
This blog is inspired by and simplified from the <\/em>\u201cSolana: How it Works\u201d executive overview by Helius and Turbine. I\u2019ve restructured and expanded the concepts with additional analogies and breakdowns to help beginners understand Solana\u2019s architecture more\u00a0easily.<\/em><\/p>\n